Scorched brass

jag2 · August 3, 2011, 03:18 PM

Does anyone have a good reason for this. I noticed it more on some 38 special and someone told me that the case wasn't sealing well in the cylinder and letting the burn come back and scorch the brass. I also see it on some 9mm, not sure if it is my brass or not, I'll start paying more attention. There is usually a lot of 9 on the ground and I'll pick up anything. I certainly see a lot of brass that looks perfectly clean. Would it make a difference if I crimped my 9mm thus assuring a more even seal all around the case? I have the Lee FCD but seldom use it because I didn't really see any difference. Any thoughts will be appreciated. It's not a problem, usually cleans off when I tumble, just curious.

Don H · August 3, 2011, 03:24 PM

Usually a sign of a low-pressure load that doesn't cause the brass to seal well against the chamber wall.

res45 · August 3, 2011, 03:34 PM

I usually get some of that with my med. to light loads in my 9mm,they just don't generate enough pressure to fully expand and seal the case to the chamber compared to factory loads,it's not a big deal and tumbles off fairly easy.

I don't put any extra crimp on 9mm,I adjust the taper crimp on the seater die so that it only sized the case mouth down about .001" smaller than one that just resized with no flair. All I want to do is just remove the flair and straighten the case back out so it feeds and chambers easily. In general if the expander plug is correct and taper crimp is set correctly and bullet dia. is correct you have sufficient bullet tension.

zxcvbob · August 3, 2011, 03:39 PM

Are you using Titegroup powder? It does that; try using Bullseye, 231, Red Dot, Green Dot, or American Select. If you're not using Titegroup, you probably are loading them too light.

dahermit · August 3, 2011, 08:41 PM

It is not so much "scorched", as it is "sooty". As mentioned above, too light of a load will delay the sealing of the chamber and the combustion products begin to blow between the brass and the chamber wall before the brass case seals. It happens mostly in handgun cartridges but does also happen in some too lightly loaded (with slow burning powders), rifle loads also.

wncchester · August 3, 2011, 08:48 PM

"Scortched" exterior? I can assure you the outside doesn't get the heat the inside does.

jag2 · August 3, 2011, 11:09 PM

Looks like the consensus is light loads and I probably agree. I'm shooting a S&W 952 which is a great gun but being a little heavy you don't feel the recoil as much. I'm loading 5 grns of w231 with a 115 bullet which I don't consider to be light but the results speak for themselves. Next round I'll bump it up a little
and also try some Bullseye and see what happens.

Uncle Buck · August 4, 2011, 09:28 AM

I had read the reason for the soot was my rounds were not sealing properly because they were low - medium pressure. I upped the powder charge a few grains (Still no where near max) and tried them. Soot is gone and the brass is shiny.

Now that I know what causes it, it does not bother me. I do not enjoy shooting full powered rounds. As far as reloading them, I use a tumbler to make the brass shiny again, so it all gets cleaned off.

Find a power level that works for you and then just tumble the soot away.

bossman · August 4, 2011, 11:21 AM

+1 on the low pressure. When I loaded my first low pressure rounds in 38 spl the brass was so sootie I just new I done something wrong. They shot great so I soon discovered it didn't hurt a thing. They cleaned up just fine when I tumbled them.

August 3, 2011, 03:18 PM	#1
jag2 Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2009 Location: dallas Posts: 773	Scorched brass Does anyone have a good reason for this. I noticed it more on some 38 special and someone told me that the case wasn't sealing well in the cylinder and letting the burn come back and scorch the brass. I also see it on some 9mm, not sure if it is my brass or not, I'll start paying more attention. There is usually a lot of 9 on the ground and I'll pick up anything. I certainly see a lot of brass that looks perfectly clean. Would it make a difference if I crimped my 9mm thus assuring a more even seal all around the case? I have the Lee FCD but seldom use it because I didn't really see any difference. Any thoughts will be appreciated. It's not a problem, usually cleans off when I tumble, just curious.

August 3, 2011, 03:24 PM	#2
Don H Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2000 Location: SLC,Utah Posts: 2,704	Usually a sign of a low-pressure load that doesn't cause the brass to seal well against the chamber wall. __________________ Don http://www.utahconcealedcarry.com/forum/

August 3, 2011, 03:39 PM	#4
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	Are you using Titegroup powder? It does that; try using Bullseye, 231, Red Dot, Green Dot, or American Select. If you're not using Titegroup, you probably are loading them too light. __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

August 4, 2011, 09:28 AM	#8
Uncle Buck Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2009 Location: West Central Missouri Posts: 2,592	I had read the reason for the soot was my rounds were not sealing properly because they were low - medium pressure. I upped the powder charge a few grains (Still no where near max) and tried them. Soot is gone and the brass is shiny. Now that I know what causes it, it does not bother me. I do not enjoy shooting full powered rounds. As far as reloading them, I use a tumbler to make the brass shiny again, so it all gets cleaned off. Find a power level that works for you and then just tumble the soot away. __________________ Inside Every Bright Idea Is The 50% Probability Of A Disaster Waiting To Happen.

August 4, 2011, 11:21 AM	#9
bossman Senior Member Join Date: November 16, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 996	+1 on the low pressure. When I loaded my first low pressure rounds in 38 spl the brass was so sootie I just new I done something wrong. They shot great so I soon discovered it didn't hurt a thing. They cleaned up just fine when I tumbled them. __________________ NRA life member When the going gets tough, I just open another beer.

August 3, 2011, 03:34 PM	#3
res45 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2007 Location: NC Posts: 753	I usually get some of that with my med. to light loads in my 9mm,they just don't generate enough pressure to fully expand and seal the case to the chamber compared to factory loads,it's not a big deal and tumbles off fairly easy. I don't put any extra crimp on 9mm,I adjust the taper crimp on the seater die so that it only sized the case mouth down about .001" smaller than one that just resized with no flair. All I want to do is just remove the flair and straighten the case back out so it feeds and chambers easily. In general if the expander plug is correct and taper crimp is set correctly and bullet dia. is correct you have sufficient bullet tension.

August 3, 2011, 08:41 PM	#5
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	It is not so much "scorched", as it is "sooty". As mentioned above, too light of a load will delay the sealing of the chamber and the combustion products begin to blow between the brass and the chamber wall before the brass case seals. It happens mostly in handgun cartridges but does also happen in some too lightly loaded (with slow burning powders), rifle loads also.

August 3, 2011, 08:48 PM	#6
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"Scortched" exterior? I can assure you the outside doesn't get the heat the inside does.

August 3, 2011, 11:09 PM	#7
jag2 Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2009 Location: dallas Posts: 773	Looks like the consensus is light loads and I probably agree. I'm shooting a S&W 952 which is a great gun but being a little heavy you don't feel the recoil as much. I'm loading 5 grns of w231 with a 115 bullet which I don't consider to be light but the results speak for themselves. Next round I'll bump it up a little and also try some Bullseye and see what happens.